The former Global BC television reporter who was given four years in prison for molesting a young boy is appealing his sentence.

Ron Bencze pleaded guilty to a single count of child sex assault last summer, while eight other sex charges allegedly involving two separate minors were stayed.

At sentencing, the trial judge surprised spectators by exceeding the Crown’s recommended three-year prison term, and also ordered Bencze to stay away from parks, schools and other areas frequented by children for 20 years.

Bencze’s lawyer Eric Gottardi said the prohibition, one of the longest ordered in B.C. history, was made without submissions from the Crown or defence.

“Where you’re talking about a really a very significant restriction on liberty, both sides have to have a chance to make their submissions to the judge and have their case heard,” Gottardi told reporters Monday. “In this case it didn’t happen.”

The sentence also bars Bencze from seeing his own children.

His lawyer argued the trial judge misunderstood a sentencing report, and that Bencze showed remorse for his crime.

“The real issue was: is there a risk to other children? And there just isn’t. The expert evidence says there’s not,” Gottardi said.

A panel of three B.C. Court of Appeal judges appeared skeptical about the arguments Monday, suggesting the trial judge had all the information he needed to make a decisionon sentencing.

However, Justice Jo-Ann Prowse suggested that she did see “some problems” with the 20-year ban from contact with minors.

Bencze was convicted of sexually abusing a young boy over a period of six years. The abuse, which involved oral sex and masturbation, was only discovered because the boy’s mother went through text messages on his cell phone.

The trial judge described Bencze’s crime as a “major sexual offence” for which he must pay a “heavy price.”

A psychiatric report delivered during the case included statement made by Bencze where he described himself as the submissive party and the victim as the dominant.

He acknowledged the relationship, and accompanying sense of danger and secrecy, was a source of exhilaration for him.

Gottardi said Bencze had been doing well in counselling prior to his incarceration at Mountain Institution, but no longer has access to treatment of any kind.

Because Bencze is in custody, the judges promised to rule quickly.

With a report from CTV British Columbia’s Jon Woodward